16.02 Indian Flag Raised at Sochi Athletes' Village After IOC Lifts Ban

SOCHI, February 15 (R-Sport) - The Indian flag was raised at the Sochi athletes' village on Sunday after the International Olympic Committee lifted a ban on the country for electing officials not tainted by corruption. 

India had been expelled from the Olympic movement last year after a man with a corruption conviction was elected to secretary general of the country's Olympic committee, in breach of IOC rules. 

But last Sunday new elections without Lalit Bhanot, who had spent nearly a year behind bars on graft charges, went ahead, and the ban was lifted by the IOC at an ad hoc meeting in Sochi on Tuesday.

On Sunday the IOC showed a photograph on its Twitter feed with the message: "The Indian flag is raised at the Mountain Athletes' Village."

Narayna Ramachandran, the president of the World Squash Federation, was elected as the new IOA president and Rajeev Mehta chosen as the new secretary general.

Three Indian athletes have been competing in the February 7-23 Winter Games in Sochi under an international flag.